Mohali, April 25
What a cricket lover wants! Floodlights, a high pitch affair, loud music and some favourite batsmen raining runs. The story was similar at PCA Stadium here where Mumbai Indians team knocked down the Kings XI Punjab this evening.

Inconsistent Warriors take on winless Chargers today
Pune, April 25
After suffering a comprehensive defeat against Delhi Daredevils in their previous match, Pune Warriors would look to bounce back in the tournament when they take on bottom-placed Deccan Chargers.The Sourav Ganguly-led side have done well in the IPL so far having won four out of eight matches. — AFP

RCB vs CSK tie called off after heavy downpour
Bangalore, April 25
The return leg match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings was called off after heavy downpour ruled out any possibility of having even a curtailed match.

Gilchrist comes to Chawla’s defence
Mohali, April 25
He is out with an injury but Adam Gilchrist played the role of a mentor to perfection when he lavished praise on Piyush Chawla who leaked 27 runs in the 19th over to pave the way for Mumbai Indian's win.
Instead of blaming Chawla, Gilchrist decided to praise Robin Peterson whose innovative switch hits got MI back in the game.
"I think we should celebrate positive cricket played by Peterson," Gilchrist, who is currently out with a hamstring injury, told reporters after the match."A reverse sweep, switch hit, slog to the boundary," he said about Peterson's batting in Chawla's over.DEJECTED: Kings XI Punjab’s Piyush Chawla reacts after they lost to Mumbai Indians in Mohali. — PTI

Australia in control after Wade’s maiden century
Roseau, April 25
A wonderful maiden Test century from Matthew Wade and a poor batting display by the West Indies left Australia in total charge at the end of the second day of the third and final Test here.

Australian batsman Matthew Wade celebrates as he scores a century during the second day of the third Test against the West Indies in Roseau, Dominica. — AFP

India Open: Jayaram, Kashyap sail into second round
New Delhi, April 25
Aiming to qualify for the London Olympics, Indian shuttlers Ajay Jayaram and P Kashyap notched up contrasting singles victories to advance to the second round of the India Open Super Series, here today.

India’s Ashwini Ponnappa and Tarun Kona in action during their mix-doubles
match at Yonex Sunrise India Open in New Delhi on Wednesday. — PTI

Mohali, April 25
What a cricket lover wants! Floodlights, a high pitch affair, loud music and some favourite batsmen raining runs. The story was similar at PCA Stadium here where Mumbai Indians team knocked down the Kings XI Punjab this evening.

Ambati Rayudu and Robin Peterson creamed leg-spinner Piyush Chawla for 27 runs in the penultimate over to snatch a stunning four-wicket victory from the jaws of defeat against Kings XI.

Mumbai were in a precarious position after 18 overs, as they needed 32 from the last 12 balls but some incredible hitting by Peterson and Rayudu helped the visitors chase the 169-run target with one ball to spare.

Peterson smacked a hapless Chawla for two fours and a six in first three balls of the 19th over and then Rayudu hoicked the leg-spinner for two sixes off the last two balls to change the complexion of the game.

The platform for the victory though was set by Rohit Sharma, who hit a blistering 50 off just 30 balls. Raydu scored 34 off 17 with two boundaries and two sixes while Peterson contributed 16 off 7 studded with two boundaries and a six.

Now Mumbai (-0.073) have moved one place up in the points table to sixth, replacing Royal Challengers Bangalore (-0.192), on the basis of better Net Run Rate although the two teams have same eight points from seven matches each.

Mumbai began their chase on a cautious note, with James Franklin and Sachin Tendulkar giving them a sedate start with the first 50 runs coming in 44 balls. Franklin (22 of 22 balls) fell to former Pakistani pacer Azhar Mahmood, nudging an edge to wicketkeeper Nitin Saini.

Mumbai suffered a big jolt when Mahmood returned to bowl his next over. He had Tendulkar caught behind when the Indian edges one to keeper while trying to make room to hit a slightly widish ball in the 10th over. Tendulkar made 34 in 29 balls with four boundaries.

Things got worse for the Mumbai team after wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Kartik and Kieven Pollard lost their wickets cheaply. Karthik moved across his stumps to scoop the ball short fine leg but Mahmood making no mistake caught him. Later, Paramveer Awana served Pollard a full pitch ball which he lofted and the ball went flying to Mandeep at the edge of deep midwicket.

Earlier, striking a right chord at right time, the two Davids of the Kings XI Punjab had a 89-run partnership off 43 balls in dying overs of their innings. Both David Hussey and David Miller contributed a lion's share after smashing all bowlers with high-towering sixes and powerful boundaries in last five overs of the game.

Stand-in captain Hussey scored a brilliant 68 off 40 studded with four boundaries and four sixes while his teammate David Miller scored 34 off 17 including three sixes and a boundary.

Pune, April 25
After suffering a comprehensive defeat against Delhi Daredevils in their previous match, Pune Warriors would look to bounce back in the tournament when they take on bottom-placed Deccan Chargers in their Indian Premier League match here tomorrow.

The Warriors lost to Daredevils by eight wickets with four overs to spare yesterday but they start as clear favourites against the winless Chargers tomorrow.

The Sourav Ganguly-led side have done reasonably well in the tournament so far having won four out of eight matches and occupying the fourth spot at the league table. But their inconsistency has been a reason of concern as they have not been able to build a winning momentum.

After defeating table-toppers Daredevils at their own backyard, the Warriors lost the very next game here against the same opponents as they failed to put up a big total against a team which has a strong batting line-up. Warriors' bowlers simply did not know how to bowl at a marauding Virender Sehwag who single-handedly won the match.

The Warriors would need Jesse Ryder and Robin Uthappa, who made 60 against Daredevils, to give them a good start tomorrow, which could be capitalised later on by the likes of Ganguly and Steven Smith.

Experienced duo of paceman Ashish Nehra and spinner Murali Kartik would have to take the responsibility against the desperate Deccan Chargers.

Having lost all their five earlier matches, Deccan managed to get a point in their sixth game against Kolkata Knight Riders after the match was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to heavy rains last night.

They would be desperately looking to register their first win in the current tournament. But for that they would have to play out of their skins. The Chargers are well aware that they have a tough task in their remaining 10 games to go beyond the league stage and the former IPL champions would be keen to click against the Warriors tomorrow.

They have failed in virtually all departments of the game with their butter-fingered fielders being the reason of their last few losses.

Defending a paltry 127, the Chargers almost had the match in their hands in their last game against Kolkata till the penultimate over when Anand Rajan dropped Debabrata Das and that enabled KKR to score a last over victory. —
PTI

Bangalore, April 25
The return leg match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings was called off after heavy downpour ruled out any possibility of having even a curtailed match.

The two on-field umpires Sudhir Asnani and Billy Doctrove called off the match at 11 pm as persistent downpour played a spoilsport.

Both CSK and RCB got a point each from the game and have nine points from eight matches respectively. With points split, CSK moved up to the third spot while Bangalore are placed fourth in the nine-team table.

Earlier, umpires Doctrove and Asnani inspected the pitch twice at 7: 45 pm and 8:15 pm and decided to start full quota over match at 9 pm.

RCB's stand-in captain Virat Kohli opted to field after winning the toss. Just as the match was about to begin, the heavens opened up once again and this time it was fairly consistent drizzle. It only got worse with passage of time as the frustrated spectators at the Chinnaswamy headed back home.
— PTI

Mohali, April 25
He is out with an injury but Adam Gilchrist played the role of a mentor to perfection when he lavished praise on Piyush Chawla who leaked 27 runs in the 19th over to pave the way for Mumbai Indian's win.

"I think we should celebrate positive cricket played by Peterson," Gilchrist, who is currently out with a hamstring injury, told reporters after the match."A reverse sweep, switch hit, slog to the boundary," he said about Peterson's batting in Chawla's over.

Chasing 169 to win in 20 overs, MI surpassed the target leaving a ball to spare. Defending stand-in captain David Hussey's decision to use Chawla in the 19th over, Gilchrist said he bowled very well in the first three overs.

"When you are in an important situation, I am sure every captain will go to his best bowlers," he said. Gilchrist said that Chawla was disappointed and he had a chat with him. "He has a good record in the tournament and I told him he needs to look ahead," he said.

He also said that Hussey has captained well in the previous few matches in his absence. Gilchrist while responding to a question said no total can be safe the way T20s are played these days.

"No situation is lost until the last ball has been bowled," he said.

Medium pacer Parvinder Awana, who had brought Punjab back in the hunt taking two crucial wickets in the 18th over, including that of Rohit Sharma, also earned praise from Gilchrist.

"He has brought a real breath of fresh air with his bowling," he said.

In a separate interaction with reporters, left-arm spinner Peterson said the victory would work a kind of catalyst for them in the matches up ahead. "Well, you back each other when you are under pressure. It could be a catalyst, but there is still a long way to go," he said.

He said MI bowlers did exceptionally well and the team was confident of chasing down the total. He gave credit to Rohit Sharma and Rayudu, who batted sensibly to guide his side to victory.

On skipper Harbhajan's poor form in the tournament, he said sometimes it happens after you do all the work hard the luck does not favour you. "He is a fantastic leader," he said about Harbhajan. — PTI

Roseau, April 25
A wonderful maiden Test century from Matthew Wade and a poor batting display by the West Indies left Australia in total charge at the end of the second day of the third and final Test here.

Australia lead by 163 runs, after being dismissed for 328 and having reduced the West Indies to 165 for eight at stumps, and are set fair to seal the series having come into it with a 1-0 lead.

Wade's innings of 106 had rescued Australia from a perilous looking overnight score of 212-7, they had been 169-7 at one point on the opening day.

Wade finally fell to the impressive Dominican-born spinner Shane Shillingford, who went on to snaffle Ben Hilfenhaus and finish with a career best 6-119 and make it a memorable experience for being the first Dominican to play a test on his home island.

It could have been so different had not Kemar Roach dropped Wade off his own bowling in his third over of the morning when the batsman had yet to add to his overnight score of 22.

The hosts did strike next ball, though, as a sharp piece of fielding by Kraigg Brathwaite ran out Mitchell Starc for a test career best of 35.

Wade upped the tempo as he approached his maiden Test fifty and brought it up with a sweep shot that yielded two runs. This mark having been reached Wade went on the attack with the highlight consecutive sixes off Shillingford. He took seven from the next over and brought up a wonderful century by driving Roach through the covers for four. It had taken 143 balls but the second fifty was struck in just 33 deliveries.

In Shillingford's next over, Wade went for another six over mid-wicket but another brilliant bit of fielding brought his downfall. Darren Bravo took a catch just inside the rope but realising his momentum was taking him over the boundary he threw the ball up, gathered himself and returned to the field of play to hold on to the ball. Wade and Hilfenhaus had added 102 runs for the eighth wicket in just 20 overs.

The batsmen had crossed as Bravo took the catch and two balls later Hilfenhaus was bowled as he tried a slog over mid-wicket for 19.

The Australians made an immediate breakthrough as the hapless West Indian opener Brathwaite edged to Ryan Harris off Hilfenhaus for his third successive duck and sixth in 16 innings. — AFP

New Delhi, April 25
Aiming to qualify for the London Olympics, Indian shuttlers Ajay Jayaram and P Kashyap notched up contrasting singles victories to advance to the second round of the India Open Super Series, here today.

World number 27 Ajay Jayaram saw off compatriot Sourabh Varma 21-15, 17-21, 21-11 in a 55-minute match to keep his Olympic qualification bid on track.

The Mumbai shuttler though now has a tough task at hand as he will take on world number one Lee Chong Wei in the second round tomorrow at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

His compatriot P Kashyap also kept his hopes alive by scoring a comfortable 21-11, 21-14 victory over Belgium Yuhan Tan to set up a clash with Boonsak Poonsana of Thailand.

Ashwini Ponnappa and Tarun Kona reached the second round of the mixed doubles with a 20-22, 21-18, 22-20 win over Muhammad Rijal and Debby Susanto of Indonesia. International stars Taufik Hidayat and Lee Chong Wei also sailed into the second round with contrasting victories.

Jayaram said he was under a lot of pressure before the match and he is happy "I was under pressure going into the match. I knew it would be a tough match and I had to work hard to win it and I am glad that I could do the job. I tried too many things in the second game. Actually I was in a hurry to finish the match but I calmed myself down in time during the third game," he said.

"Sourabh is very solid in his defence and it is better to finish off the match in two games," he added.

Among others, Tarun Kona and Arun Vishnu suffered a 15-21, 10-21 defeat at the hands of Indonesian pair of Angga Pratama and Ryan Agung Saputra in the men's doubles, while Gopi Raju G and Shivam Sharma lost 7-21, 15-21 to Malaysian pair of V Shem Goh and Khim Wah Lim.

Up against third seeds Chinese Biao Chai and Zhendong Guo, the Indian pair of Mayank Behal and Manjush Mohan K K lost 9-21, 7-21, while in another match fourth seeds Mohammad Ahsan and Bona Septano of Indonesia taught a lesson or two to Sumeeth Reddy B and Hemanagendra Babu T, beating the Indian pair 21-12, 21-13.

Manu Attri and Jishnu Sanyal also fell by the wayside, losing 13-21, 17-21 to Adam Cwalina and Michal Logosz of Indonesia. Another men's doubles pair of Bennet Antony and Suraj PH also succumbed to a 17-21, 12-21 defeat to Korean pair of Ki Jung Kim and Sa Rang Kim.

In the mixed doubles, Pranav Chopra and Prajakta Sawant also suffered a similar fate as they squandered a first game lead to go down 21-16, 19-21, 11-21 to Japanese pair of Noriyasu Hirata and Miyuki Maeda.

Seventh seeds Japanese pair of Shintaro Ikeda and Reiko Shiota sent packing Indian pair of Arun Vishnu and Aparna Balan 21-9, 21-19 in a 29-minute match, while Akshay Dewalkar and Pradnya Gadre lost to third seed Koreans Yong Dae Lee and Jung Eun Ha 18-21, 15-21.
— PTI

New Delhi, April 25
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal notched up a comfortable straight-game victory over Hong Kong's Pui Yin Yip to start her India Open Super Series campaign on a positive note, here today.

The world number five Saina hardly broke a sweat and wrapped up the match inside half an hour, beating the Hong Kong girl 21-14, 21-6 to set up a clash with Koean Youn Joo Bae in the women's singles.

Aiming to qualify for the London Olympics, Ajay Jayaram and P Kashyap scored contrasting victories in their opening matches in the men's singles at the Siri Fort Sport Complex.

World number 27 Ajay Jayaram saw off compatriot Sourabh Varma 21-15, 17-21, 21-11 in a 55-minute match to keep his Olympic qualification bid on track. The Mumbai shuttler will take on world number one Lee Chong Wei in the second round tomorrow.

His compatriot P Kashyap also kept his hopes alive by notching up a comfortable 21-11, 21-14 victory over Belgium Yuhan Tan to set up a clash with Boonsak Poonsana of Thailand.

In men's doubles competition, Manish Gupta and Gaurav Venkat prevailed over compatriot Sanjeeth S and Jagadish Yadav 21-14, 15-21, 21-15, while top Indian pair of Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas also reached the second round after their top seed opponents Jae Sung Jung and Yong Dae Lee of Korea gave a walkover.

However, it was curtains for world number 16 Indians V Diju and Jwala Gutta, who were looking to book a berth for the London Olympics. The Indian duo lost 18-21, 19-21 to Chinese pair of Tao Jiaming and Xia Huan.

Saina was in Command throughout the match as she opened up a 11-5 lead. Yip tried to claw her way back but couldn't threaten the Indian as she surged to a 20-13. Although the Hong Kong girl saved a match point, Saina sealed the game comfortably at 21-14.

The 22-year-old Indian played some deft drops and sharp smashes and made her rival run across the court with good rallies. Even though she missed a few points, Saina never looked out of sort. After leading 11-5, the Indian conceded just one point before sealing the issue in her favour.

In the mixed doubles competition, Jwala and Diju started off slowly but had their nose ahead at 11-10 at the break in the first game.

They lost a few points but with the Chinese succumbing to some unforced errors, the Indians bounced back to join them at 15-15 and moved to 17-17, and also had taken a 18-17 lead. But a shot at the net and a couple of misjudgements cost them the game.

In the second game, the Indians opened up a 4-1 lead but the Chinese slowly clawed back at 4-4 after a wrong service by the visitors were awarded to them. Jwala struggled against the fast smashes of the Chinese and also her returns went wayward even though Diju provided good cover at the back of the court.

The Chinese moved into the break at 11-10 but the Indians came back to lead 17-14. But they once again blew the 3-point lead as the Chinese closed the match after Diju hit the shuttle at the nets.

Deeply hurt after the defeat, Jwala said she couldn't give her best today as she was put off by the last-minute shift of her match.

"I didn't play well today. My match was shifted at the last minute without informing us. There were two more matches ahead of our match and it was me who went to the referre and asked and he gave us 15 minutes to get ready. It put me off completely," she said.
— PTI